Editorial omitted one side of nurse staff issue

Friday

Jun 27, 2008 at 6:00 AM

I was impressed to think that an editorial writer could be so well-versed in running a hospital — until I realized he has a friend in the hospital administrator’s office. How do I know this? The writer of “Dangerous mandate” (Telegram & Gazette, May 28) had to have been given the propaganda orated by the hospital bigwigs many times in the past, because it sounds so familiar now.

The editorial writer believes that the nurses’ request is, get this, an ill-conceived attempt at micro-managing the hospital care. Hmm. Why did he use higher echelon jargon that came, verbatim, from the hospital administrators themselves? I’m not naive enough to believe that this is just a coincidence.

If and when the editorial writer enters the hospital in pain, he’ll find administrators would rather send an aide or candy striper to fluff his pillows, rather than a registered nurse to tend to his needs. It saves money.

The editorial writer neglected to write the other side of this story. When you enter the hospital, doctors are usually called away. Administrators sit behind expensive desks with high-tech toys. Only nurses run from room to room, hour after hour, applying care.

If the editorial writer does go to the hospital, he may be forced to eat his words. So, he should bring his editorial.